From Richard Owusu-Akyaw.
Plan Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), is to support the Girl Power Project in the Ashanti Region with an amount of GH¢220,000 in scholarships, to over 100 students.
Part of the amount would also be used in providing vocational skills to Junior High School products, to enable them to become self-employed. The Girl-Child project, which started in 2011with the support of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, would benefit 32 communities in the Ashanti Region.
The beneficiary communities include six each in the Bosomtwe and Kwabre East districts, and 10 each from the Kumasi Metropolis and Obuasi Municipality. The beneficiary communities in the Bosomtwe District are Aputuogya, Pease, Kuntanase, Asiriwa, Kotwi, and Adunku.
Mr. Barimah Akwasi Amankwaah, acting National Coordinator of Ghana NGOs Coalition, revealed this at the end of a two-day workshop on the Right of the Child and the role and responsibilities of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and School Management Communities, at Kokoado in the Bosomtwe District.
The workshop was aimed at building the capacity of the participants to improve education in those areas, as well as ensuring the success of the Girl Power Project, which aims at reducing sexual and gender-based violence against girls and young women, and ensure socio-economic empowerment among them, by strengthening the quality and access to education.
The Acting Co-ordinator emphasised the importance of education in development, and urged PTAs and SMCs to play meaningful contributions in their communities. Ms Margret Brew Word, Co-ordinator in charge of the Girl Power Project, appealed to the participants to show interest in education in their respective areas.
Mr. Kwadwo Owusu, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Association of Ghana (EPA), indicated that the EPA was complementing the Girl Power project in the Bosomtwe District. Ms Victoria Manko, a participant, thanked Plan Ghana for sponsoring the workshop, and hoped the participants would play vital contributory roles towards the successful implementation of the Girl Power Project in Ghana.